Stunted Wheat Crops Are Turning Blue in Drought-Ravaged Kansas

  • Crop scouts find evidence of dry, damaged wheat during tour
  • As supplies shrink, the US is losing relevance in grain trade

Wheat growing near Beaver, Oklahoma on May 17. 

Photographer: Michael Hirtzer/Bloomberg
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It’s so dry in Kansas that wheat plants are turning blue.

At this time of year, crops are typically a verdant green and reach about knee height. Instead, prolonged drought means that many plants are just barely shin-high, their growth stunted by a lack of moisture. Some are yellowing, and others have the tell-tale blueish hue that plagues damaged fields.